For years trucking companies have attempted to monitor and control out-of-route mileage driven by long haul truckers. In the past, truck drivers have been known to, either unintentionally or intentionally, drive considerable distances from their assigned routes. These "out-of-route" miles are extremely expensive to trucking companies because of the additional fuel expense and maintenance expenses associated with the additional mileage.
Several different methods have been used in the past as attempts to restrict out-of-route mileage. One example is to require the truck driver to periodically stop the vehicle and telephone in the vehicle location. Another has been to monitor the actual mileage that has been driven and compare it to the predetermined route distance. Yet another is to continuously transmit, by radio etc., the truck's present position to a central dispatcher where it can be monitored.
While these methods have enjoyed some use in the past, they do have several serious drawbacks. First of all, the method which requires the truck driver to stop the vehicle and telephone in has disadvantages because it requires additional duties for the truck driver and associated delays. Furthermore, problems with the veracity and accuracy of the driver's position report can be frequent impediments to accurate and timely out-of-route determinations. The method of comparing the actual total mileage the truck was driven with the total predetermined route distance is undesirable because it cannot be performed in a real time fashion and must involve a lag time when the truck is being driven and when the comparisons are made. The method involving continuous radio transmission of the truck's current position to a central dispatcher is undesirable because it consumes much precious radio transmission time and further places a great burden on the central dispatcher and dispatcher's computer, especially if numerous trucks are being simultaneously monitored.
Consequently there exists a need for improvement in the monitoring and reporting of out-of-route mileage for the trucking industry.